D.T.O. Meirs told me one day that he was going to Haifa and would I like to accompany him. We drove in the pickup and were soon in the shopping area. He could speak fluent Hebrew and it made all the difference in the world in the shops. He also knew his way around and where to shop. We had a very good afternoon and were on our way home when four young Jewish men stopped us. As we were in ''Traffic'' uniform we were not too concerned.

They were members of the Haganah and informed us that there was a terrorist ambush about a mile further down the road. We thanked them and took a different way back, no good pushing your luck with this "Traffic" immunity thing. This was the first time I had experienced such an act by the Haganah but I heard it was not uncommon.

The end of 1947 was a period of rumors and contradictions of the rumors. It was well known that the U.S.A. was pushing the United Nations to approve a national home for the Jews in Palestine. There was much opposition and they had to postpone the vote several times while they persuaded, sometimes with great pressure, other countries to change their decision. The Jewish lobby in the U.S. was extremely strong and put pressure where needed to gain their end. They also were very generous with funds to assist Jews to get to Palestine, legally or not. It was common to see the latest U.S. tractors and other farm equipment in the Jewish fields and note the contrast to what the Arab farmer had to work with. A considerable amount of arms were also supplied with moneys from the U.S. in anticipation of the fight they would have, to retain the land set aside for the Jewish Homeland. After the UN voted for partition at the end of November 1947 the date for the British Mandate to cease, after 30 years, was set for May 15^th. 1948.